Since 9/11, I have listened to the rhetoric about “preserving our freedom”, “protecting liberty” and statements of that sort coming from the government. The media is continually starting news stories with “The Cost of Freedom”, etc. Then they go on to talk about how the cost is freedom is the putting up with searches or extended waiting in line to enter a government building or an airport. As the government proclaims the need to protect our values and freedom, every action to “protect” has resulted in an erosion of our freedom. Every new law to attack terrorism has been an attack on the liberty of the people of this nation.

The cost of freedom is NOT inconvenience, as you will see. Freedom and liberty are concepts and conditions of living which are not cheap. They do come at an enormous price. That price was first paid by those who fought to achieve freedom and liberty for this nation to begin with and there is a continuing price, not only in the lives of those who fight wars abroad to protect freedom and liberty, but also the price paid by those who stay at home.

For those who fight in all out war the cost is evident; it could cost their life. For those who stay at home the cost is less obvious but just as expensive. It could cost them their lives, their property, their employment or more. What am I talking about? I am talking about the cost of freedom and liberty.

The cost of freedom and liberty can not only be measured or estimated by the cost of going to war. It must also be measured by the cost of keeping that freedom and liberty intact in the face of potential harm that could come from someone misusing their freedom. This is sometimes the hardest price to pay.

Everyone likes to feel safe and secure, but, is feeling safe and secure worth the price of the loss of freedom and liberty? How much freedom and liberty will you be willing to sacrifice for a feeling of security? Keep in mind it is only a feeling of security. It is only a semblance, a façade of security. There is no possible way to ensure complete security for every single person. Even the most restrictive government can’t do that. At any given time, in any given city, someone with enough will to do harm…can!

Every time government says, “We are making it safer for you,” understand that statement to mean, “We are taking away more of your freedom and liberty.” How are they doing this, you ask. They are eroding away your right to privacy, your right to be secure in your person and effects, your right to engage in normal travel and commerce without the intrusion of government. They are eroding your right to not have your every movement observed and even your right to protect yourself from harm.

The problem with security provided by government is that with each inch they are given to provide the façade of security, they take a mile of the individual’s freedom and liberty. Let me ask these questions. Do free people need permission to engage in marriage? Do free people need permission to enter into business? Do free people need permission to travel? Do free people need to ask permission to arm themselves for protection? Are free people subject to being stopped and searched at the whim of the government? You will answer no, and we are not required to obtain permission these and other things.

If that answer is true, then why is the document you receive from the government called a Marriage License? A license means permission. If that answer is true then why are you required to obtain a license to do business? A license means permission. If that answer is true, then why do you have to obtain permission to drive a car, or cross international borders? A license, a passport, means permission. If that answer is true, then why must you request permission from the government to buy a firearm? A purchase application is permission and the record is kept so that that firearm can be seized if the government desires.

You will probably now respond with something like, “Those licenses and procedures are there to protect the public.” That is an irresponsible way of looking at the issue. Freedom and liberty are expensive. To live free and with liberty doesn’t always mean you will be safe from the irresponsible behavior of others. When others behave irresponsibly, it is the responsibility of us as a society, government if you will, to hold them accountable for their actions.

Not only should people who act irresponsibly be held accountable, they should make restitution to those they have harmed. If that means working the rest of their life to restore the harmed individual to wholeness, if possible, or forfeiting whatever they have at the time to restore balance, that should be required.

What we have is irrational response by government. Each time someone misuses one of our freedoms to harm others, instead of dealing with the person or persons responsible the government instantly wants to pass a law which will limit more of everyone’s civil liberties.

When the Murrah building was bombed, one of the first things that government wanted to do was “crack down on militia groups.” Now I don’t belong to any militia group, nor do I actually know anyone who does, but, it wasn’t all militias groups, if any, that were involved in that crime.

The next thing government began to talk about was how they needed to “crack down on gun ownership.” The Murrah building wasn’t shot, it was bombed. Then they “cracked down on purchases of ammonium nitrate, a common fertilizer, as if anyone and everyone who purchased it were going to produce a bomb. That is the furthest thing from the truth. Most people are peaceful and just want to be left alone.

You see, when we as a society, look to government to provide total safety and security for us, all we are doing is asking the government to be more oppressive. When any government has the opportunity to become more controlling and oppressive, it will. Benjamin Franklin said, “He who sacrifices freedom for security is neither free nor secure.” All you have to do is look at the history of the past few years to see how the deterioration of liberty has escalated.

The argument is always the same. “Laws are passed to protect the people.” “The People”, society, is made up of individuals. Each individual is responsible for behaving in such a way as to not infringe on the freedom and liberty of the rest of society. If an individual hurts another individual, they should be held accountable. Sometimes bad people do bad things and hurt good people. When that happens, the law should step in and hold the bad people accountable, not make all the good people pay with a loss of their freedoms.

The thing we must remember is this; freedom and liberty are concepts and conditions of life that, like anything else, can be misused. Because a right or thing is misused by someone is no excuse to deny that right or thing from people who aren’t misusing it. That is the unseen cost of freedom and liberty, allowing people to use their freedom and liberty knowing that some of them will in fact misuse them. That is what makes a free people great, their ability to stay free even though some would use their freedoms against them.

We must not become fearful and willing for our freedoms to be eroded by our thinking that government can provide perfect safety and security. Not only can government not provide complete security, in trying to do so, that government becomes an instrument of destruction of liberty and freedom. As Apostle Paul said, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free…” We must stand fast and protect the liberties many from previous generations so heroically died to protect.

Freedom and liberty aren’t free, they are very expensive and the payment is exacted on every one of us each time a freedom is used to harm because we fight our fears and refuse to give in and allow that freedom to be shackled. Let us, as people who long for freedom, stand up and say, “No more!” “We will not tolerate any more weakening of our freedoms regardless of the cost.”